Review: Breakfast at Captain’s Grille in Disney’s Yacht Club Resort

I’ve long considered Captain’s Grille to be a hidden gem at Walt Disney World. Located at Disney’s Yacht Club Resort, this place isn’t much to look at (pretty boring, in fact), but they really do have some great food and there always seems to be a table available.

Atmosphere

The decor of Captain’s Grille is consistent with the rest of the Yacht Club Resort. You won’t find anything outlandish in this corner of Disney, just lots of blond wood and boaty details — stripes, stars, compass-type stuff, anchors…you know the deal.

Captain’s Grille Seating

The space is open with lots of light from overhead chandeliers and recessed light above as well as windows onto the lobby and grounds. The whole effect gives the room an airy feel. Seating is comprised of large padded chairs and booths. It’s fairly typical to find a sparsely populated dining room, so I’ve always considered the space to be roomy and comfortable.

The Main Seating Area

In the main seating area around the ceiling you’ll spy these porthole-type windows, which give you the feeling that you’re enjoying your meal below deck.

While there aren’t tons of decorative details here, what you will find is pretty interesting. The three-dimensional sailing scenes are some of my favorite touches, and are a whimsical way to bring the theme into focus.

A Ship Sailing the Ocean Blue

Ocean Scenes

Now that we’ve had a look around, let’s explore the breakfast options.

Eats

Starting your day off with a big breakfast while at Disney World can be a great strategy for saving money and time once you get into the Parks. And if that sounds like a good plan to you, Captain’s Grille is a great place to fuel up.

Captain’s Grille offers a crowd-pleasing approach to food as well. You can choose from a buffet spread if you’d like to graze (or eat quickly to make it to your first fastpass of the day), or order from their a la carte menu, which features a couple of house specialties that are pretty interesting. I’ll be sharing those with you a little later on.

Breakfast Menu — Click to Enlarge

One thing I knew for sure. As I looked over the menu, I had to order a Mimosa. This is the ultimate in treating yourself, and if you’re indulging in a leisurely breakfast at Disney World…you know, before a full day of chasing your kids around theme parks…why not?

Mimosa

Let’s explore the buffet a bit, and then we’ll take a look at a few of the a buffet items and la carte entrees that we enjoyed.

Captain’s Grille Buffet

As Disney breakfast buffets go, this one is pretty typical, but plentiful. You would have to be an extremely picky eater not to find something that appeals!

Buffet

It’s important to note that the the two sides of the buffet are not mirror images. You’ll want to check out both sides, because they offer completely different dishes.

Since spreads like this can be a little overwhelming, I like to break them down by category. We’ll get started with some cold items.

Cold Breakfast Buffet Items

You can begin your meal with several Fresh Fruit options. The day we visited, we found Grapes, Pineapple, Watermelon, and Cantaloupe.

Grapes and Pineapple

Diced Watermelon and Cantaloupe

Yogurt, Cottage Cheese, and Prunes are also on offer.

Yogurt, Cottage Cheese, and Prunes

Tomato Slices, Cream Cheese, and Smoked Salmon are available to top your Bagels.

Tomato Slices, Cream Cheese, and Smoked Salmon

A Salad of Quinoa with Strawberry Vinaigrette packs a protein punch. You’ll also find Hard Boiled and Diced Eggs, in addition to Onions and Capers, all good choices to accompany your smoked salmon.

Cereals and Breads

A full array of Breakfast Breads are also on hand to round out your plate. We found Danish and Quickbreads.

Danish and Quickbreads

There were also Mini Croissants and Cinnamon Rolls — always so hard to resist!

Mini Croissants and Danish

Mini Muffins are sized just right so that you can enjoy a couple of bites, or try a few different flavors.

Mini Muffin Selection

House Made Granola is also available, alongside Brown Sugar and Dried Fruits — perfect for finishing off your hot cereal or yogurt.

Granola, Brown Sugar, Dried Fruits

And if all else fails, you (or those picky little ones who are always following you around) can fill up on Cold Cereal.

Dry Cereal Selection

Time to check out the hot side of things!

Hot Breakfast Buffet Items

More delicious options await you as you step up to the hot buffet. You can start your tour here with a selection of Biscuits and Gravy or Oatmeal.

Biscuits, Gravy, Oatmeal

A full array of Egg-Based Items are available as well. Choose from Scrambled Eggs, or go with something a little fancier. We found a variety of Mini Frittatas and Quiches, perfect for trying lots of different things.

Eggs and Individual Quiches

Egg White Frittatas filled with Spinach and topped with Tomato were a healthy alternative to heavier options.

Mini Frittata of the Day, Egg White Tomato and Cheese Frittata

And who can resist a crisp, cheesy Hashbrown Casserole?

Hash Brown Casserole

Broiled Tomatoes, Grilled Turkey Sausage, and Grits were part of the spread as well.

Broiled Tomatoes, Turkey Sausage, Grits

You can also choose some Bacon and Sausage to go with your…Bread Pudding. Because every breakfast needs a little dessert, I say. 😉

Bacon, Sausage, and Bread Pudding

Team Sweet is also well represented by Pancakes, French Toast, and of course, Mickey Waffles! And don’t forget the Bananas Foster Sauce. You better believe I won’t.

Pancakes, Mini Waffles, French Toast

You have lots of choices when it comes time to top them, too. How about Warm Syrup?

Warm Syrup

Or channel your inner child with Sprinkles and Chocolate Sauce.

Rainbow Sprinkles and Chocolate Sauce

Whipped Cream, Butter, Cherries, and M&Ms are also good options!

Waffle Toppings

So much to process! It was hard to make a decision, but we did manage to do it at last!

We ordered both the buffet and a few a la carte options. I started out with one of the Quiche of the Day options. With several different varieties, it was easy to find flavors that appealed. The Peppers in this one offered nice flavor contrast, and the melted Monterey Jack cheese on top provided an extra rich note.

Quiche of the Day — Up Close

And of course…we are not visiting a Disney buffet without having at least one Mickey Waffle! We enjoyed this one with some of that delicious, rich, and super sweet Bananas Foster Sauce.

Mickey Waffle and Bananas Foster Syrup

Earlier, as I reviewed the menu, I happened to notice a couple of my favorite things in the whole world — Lemon Curd and White Chocolate Ganache. Both were featured as components on other dishes — the White Chocolate Ganache tops the Citrus-Scented French Toast, while the Lemon Curd is part of the Lemon-Ricotta Hotcakes. I couldn’t resist asking for a little ramekin of each, and our server happily obliged. How awesome? Very.

Lemon Curd

White Chocolate Ganache

A couple of menu items caught our eye as well. We were really intrigued by the Dark Chocolate Waffles. Isn’t this plate beautiful? Chocolate Waffles are topped with a Dried Cherry Compote, Espresso-Mascarpone Cream, and Chocolate Shavings.

The waffles had an essence of chocolate, but weren’t overpowering. The cherries were awesome! Wish I’d had more of them!

Dark Chocolate Waffles

The Waffles come with your choice of Bacon or Sausage, and I went with the latter.

Sausage Links

But one of the Grille’s most well-known breakfast items is the Lobster Omelet. Sounds so luxurious, right? My friend chose this one.

The Omelet itself is stuffed with Butter-Poached Lobster and Asparagus. It’s topped with a dollop of Chive Cream and accompanied by shredded Hashbrown Potatoes. A fresh Arugula Salad with Tomatoes provided a good dose of color.

Lobster Omelet

The dish got high marks. It had plenty of Lobster, both inside and as a garnish. And I think the most amazing thing is the price! You’d expect this to be pretty expensive, but it’s only a little more than many of the other menu items.

Lobster Omelet — Inside

We definitely were satisfied with our incredible breakfast. Soon we were on our way, ready to walk toward Epcot for a morning of exploration.

Overall

I have always loved Captain’s Grille for lunch. The restaurant is conveniently located so close to both Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios that it’s the perfect destination for a quiet break in the middle of the day.

And though I’d had breakfast here once before, I hadn’t been back in a long time. It continues to deliver. The food was delicious — both what we ordered from the menu, and what we enjoyed from the buffet. Every selection was hot and fresh.

The spread here will fill you up, however. If you’re looking for excuses to stop for a snack later, you may want to find a lighter option.

But if a substantial, interesting buffet within walking distance of two theme parks sounds like a great way to start your Disney day, I strongly recommend you check out the Captain’s Grille. You won’t leave hungry, I promise.

Do you enjoy kicking your Disney day off with breakfast at Captain’s Grill? Leave a comment and tell us what you think!

Comments

The food on the buffet looked really yummy but your two menu items looked absolutely delicious. I would try both of them.
I was reading this post when I was eating my breakfast and I wanted to put my spoon down and have the waffles instead. Wouldn’t it be great if everything we see on here we could order and poof it’s right in front of you.
🙂

My husband and I just went there in October for breakfast and LOVED it! I would consider it a hidden gem. We did not do the buffet, but ordered the lemon ricotta hotcakes and lavender French toast. Both dishes were outstanding! We plan on making this a routine visit on our Disney trips!

We ate here for breakfast a few weeks ago for our first time. I found the buffet layout to be a little constricting as the inflow for people getting plates and then helping themselves to the buffet and becoming outflow is in a pretty cramped area. Other than that, we enjoyed it a lot.

What I didn’t see mentioned is that if you get the buffet, you can ask your server for a cooked to order omelet or cooked to order eggs that is included in the buffet. Our server mentioned this to us as soon as we sat down.

In a couple of visits to Captain’s Grille we have enjoyed the food and breakfast is no exception. There is something for everyone’s taste! Between the buffet and menu items they offer a huge variety. We have found it a great choice for a pre-park breakfast.

This is a favorite of mine. We usually stay at the Beach Club, so we hit this place for breakfast a couple times per trip. Never very busy, in fact I would say it is one of the few places you probably could get in without a reservation. I love the décor, in fact the Yacht Club is my favorite Disney resort. I agree with Chris T.-the biscuits and gravy are the best I have had at WDW.

I can’t find the exact price-but I know it is one of the more reasonable breakfast buffets on property-and I love the size of the buffet, it has everything I want, and it isn’t overwhelming.